31 killed in attack on anti-militia protesters in Libya capital

• Militiamen opened fire Friday on hundreds of protesters in Tripoli, killing 31 people and wounding 230.

• The protesters were demanding the armed group from the city of Misrata to move out of the capital.

• The militia group insisted not to leave Tripoli until the country draws up a new constitution.

People lift a wounded man during clashes in Tripoli, Libya, Nov. 15, 2013. A group of militiamen opened fire on Friday on hundreds of demonstrators in Libya's capital of Tripoli, who demanded the former to leave their headquarters in the capital, killing at least five people and wounding 20 others. (Xinhua/Hamza Turkia)

TRIPOLI, Nov. 16 (Xinhua) -- A group of militiamen opened fire here on Friday at hundreds of protesters, killing at least 31 people and wounding 230 others, the Libyan Health Ministry said.

Some militiamen who opened fire with rocket-propelled grenades and heavy machine guns at hundreds of protesters, who were demanding the armed group from the city of Misrata to move out of the capital, according to a Xinhua reporter at the scene. The group is allegedly involved in the bloody clashes last Thursday in the Tripoli.

Speaking at a press conference, Libyan Prime Minister Ali Zeidan blamed both the protesters and the militia for the violence.

But Taha Bashaga, regional commander of the Misrata militia group, told a TV that the protesters were armed and opened fire first, insisting that his brigades not leave Tripoli until the country draws up a new constitution.

Two years after the 2011 conflict, the Libyan authorities are still struggling to rein in tens of armed militia groups roaming the country. Murders and kidnappings of security officers as well as protests are registered on daily basis.

TRIPOLI, Nov. 12 (Xinhua) -- Libyan interim government set up a crisis committee for the security incidents and natural emergencies on Tuesday.

The Libyan government issued the Council of Ministers Resolution No. 662 providing a committee formed by the ministries of interior, health, justice, foreign affairs and communications , along with representatives from the General Intelligence and the presidency of the Army Staff.Full story

TRIPOLI, Nov. 12 (Xinhua) -- Libyan parliament transferred the Libyan Revolutionaries Operations Room (LROR) and all armed formations to the presidency of the General Staff of the Libyan Army, by 77 votes out of 85 members attending the Congress session on Tuesday morning.

The decision comes amid the popular discontent over the deterioration of security across all Libya, particularly in the capital and in the eastern region of Cyrenaica.Full story

TRIPOLI, Nov. 11 (Xinhua) -- Some Amazigh men, also known as Berbers, shut down an oil pipeline in western Libya early Monday to demand expanding their representation in the future constituent assembly, the protesters' spokesman told Xinhua.

The protesters stormed the Green Stream pipeline plant, an Italian-Libyan joint venture at 2:00 a.m. (0100 GMT) Monday and forced the staff to shut down the facility.Full story